Cause and Effect
by popsicle521
Summary: Sure, the Dragonborn saved the world. But he also became an assassin and a thief, too, among other things. Read from two perspectives, one a Dragonborn with amnesia, and another a normal boy years later who must save Skyrim again from the corrupted Dragonborn. (Changed the backstory a bit- dragons have been in Skyrim before the Dragonborn shows up)
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – Prisoner

When I first opened my eyes, I saw weapons clanging, bodies flying, and fire burning in a small village all around me. I sat up and looked around. The scales on my head were soaked in blood.- wait, scales?

I looked at myself and saw that yes, I had scales. _That's because I'm an Argonian._ I thought. Then I thought, _What the heck is an Argonian? _"Prisoner! Over here!" A voice called out.

I looked at the man who had yelled. He had long-ish blonde hair and was wearing a blue-and-brown cuirass. I raised a brow as if to say, _Me?_

Suddenly, a huge, black mass swooped out of the air and crashed through a wooden hotel behind the stranger. The walls and roof exploded outwards, sending planks and flaming furniture across the square. The stranger who had yelled was flung by the impact across a road and into the wall of another building. He hit the ground and didn't move.

I stood up and saw that I had been lying down on an execution block, with my head… on top of another severed head! I jumped back, stumbling over the body and hitting the stone hard. I tried to get my breath back and looked up at the sky. Then, a massive dragon flew overhead, spewing fire out of its mouth. I scrambled to my feet and ran towards the building that had been destroyed. I spotted a sword on the ground next to the bloody corpse of a guard and picked it up, running towards the man that had hit the wall. I reached him and saw that he was waking up.

"Come on!" I said, shocked at the sound of my voice, as if it were someone else's.

He looked at me, nodded, and accepted my hand to pull him up.

"Follow me, Lizard! There's an underground river that we can use to escape!" The man said, running onto a cobblestone path leading around a large stone tower.

As we ran, I looked around and saw guards fighting with the people wearing the blue cuirasses, people shooting arrows into the sky at the dragon, and buildings being ripped apart by fire. Out of nowhere, a man tackled me and slammed me into a the wall of the building we were running around. "Help!" I yelled.

The man who tackled me was wearing a combination of metal and leather armor. He had me pinned with one hand and his knees against the stone wall. "Traitor!" He yelled as he swung his sword directly at my head-

And he flew sideways off of me, leaving a scratch on my neck where the very tip of his sword barely grazed me. I looked to my left where I saw the man who I helped out of the building with his hand offered to me. "Thanks." I said.

"No problem. Now come on!"

We rounded the corner of a building and saw a bunch of men standing in formation with swords and shields. "Imperials." My companion said with a grimace. "There they are!" The one in front yelled. "Attack!"

Right before they charged us, the dragon landed on the ground in between us with a ground-shaking THUD. "Go!" My friend hollered.

I rocketed towards the dragon one way while my friend went the other, which had landed facing the other men. Fire shot out of his mouth, and I could feel the intense heat from where I was standing as it flew towards our attackers. I was about to dart around the tip of the dragon's wing to meet up with my friend when the dragon's tail slammed into my back from behind, sending me sailing into the air, over the dragon's scaly neck, and onto the ground directly underneath the beast's colossal snout.

It raised its head and looked at me. I looked into its eyes and saw a spark of something, but before I knew what it was, the monster turned and snapped at one of the Imperials who were trying to run away. By the time it turned back around, I was on my feet, running away after my friend.

We leapt over a small wooden fence, leaving the town and reached a small cliff. About 20 feet below us was a hatch in the ground with nothing but blackness inside. "Once you get inside and through the river, the moss will light the way."

Before he could continue, the dragon shouted "_**WHERE…ARE…YOU?!" **_The noise seemed to echo and reverberate throughout the sky, thundering into the eardrums of anybody within a mile. Something awfully hard in the pit of my stomach told me he was looking for me.

"That's our cue!" I said.

The man I had just met nodded, turned around and jumped off the cliff, with me right behind him. Time seemed to slow down as we fell through the air next to the rocky cliff face. I turned as I fell and saw the dragon speeding towards the my friend and I. The man flying through the air beneath me was struck in the legs by the full force of a flying, scaled beast directly in his legs. He screamed and spun around in the air like a pinwheel. The end of the dragon's tail hit my stomach, making me roll over in the air. I managed to look down and see my friend's head slam into the wooden frame of the hatch and bounce back towards the hole just below me. Still spinning, I took a breath, slammed into his body in the air, and splashed down into pitch-black water as the dragon's roar echoed through the land above me.

The rushing water flung me around and spun me in the currents, leaving me without any sense of direction. Despite that, I still managed to grab my friend's leg when my hand brushed against it. We swirled through the black water, and even with my lizard eyes I could see nothing until, right before I let go of everything, I saw light and burst through the surface of the water, gasping for precious air.

I looked back and saw smoke and flames rising above the forest, where the town I was in was destroyed. I hauled myself onto the rocky coast, pulling my friend out of the water with me. When I realized how light he was, I looked at what my hand was actually holding. His leg.

Just his leg.

I threw the leg back in the river and threw up on the ground. When I couldn't heave out anymore I laid out flat on my back and stared up at the sky, beaten, battered, sick, tired and disgusted and asked to the world in general-

"Who _am _I?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Malachite

When I first opened my eyes, the world was doomed. When I was born, 17 years ago, Alduin, the World Eater, was terrorizing the province of Skyrim. The city guards of the holds fought off the dragons well enough, but it was a miserable time. Then, when I was 12, when some town in Falkreath was destroyed by Alduin himself, there were rumors of a Dragonborn. Someone who Alduin brought a whole town to the ground looking for, someone who had the power to bring safety and peace to Skyrim, someone who could change the course of history. Except for one thing. He had no idea.

There are tons of stories about how he lost his memory. He got hit by a brick, Alduin sucked it out of him, and even crazier theories than that. Whatever happened, the Dragonborn destined to save the province had amnesia. Luckily enough, he was persuaded to realize his destiny and eventually, a year later, he saved the world. Everyone lived happily ever after, right? No.

The Dragonborn, even though he had just saved, didn't know a lot about the world. People took advantage of him, gave him ideas, and betrayed him. Eventually, he turned to darkness. He became an assassin, a thief, a rebel against the empire, and some say he even served Daedra and became a werewolf. As the most powerful man in Skyrim, he amassed an army of followers. The Dark Brotherhood, The Thieves Guild, The Stormcloaks, and the Companions became our new government, and the Dragonborn became our king. The Greybeards were slain, the Imperials driven out; anybody who could be a threat to the Argonian was obliterated.

Skyrim was thrown into an even darker age than it had been in before the Dragonborn saved the world. But enough about him- let's talk about me.

My name is Malachite Firestorm. I live in Whiterun with my parents and my older sister, Iveri. We used to live in Solitude, but when Whiterun was captured by the Stormcloaks, my family moved here because we knew the siege on Solitude would come next. My mom is a chef for Jarl Grey-mane, and my Dad works at the forge. My sister and I hunt every day to supply our family with food. We explore caves and dungeons to try and find money or weapons for our family. She is almost a year older than me, but not quite. When Iveri turns 18, she'll be assigned a job by… well, whoever the Dragonborn put in charge of assigning jobs. On the 18th birthday of any resident, a letter will be found on the door in the morning telling them when and what to do for their new job.

I'm nervous, frankly. I don't want to have to hunt on my own. My parents make enough money to get by, but the things my sister and I d out in the wild are what let my family live instead of survive. Plus, the jobs you get don't always stay in the city. You can be drafted into any of the organizations the Dragonborn put in charge of Skyrim. You could become a guard, a baker, an assassin, a bartender, or pretty much anything. So, in a few days, on my sister's birthday, she could be gone forever.

Now that you're all caught up, we can start with the story.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 – Companion

I lay on the side of that rocky river bank for a while, recuperating and watching the clouds. When I finally felt better, I slowly stood up and looked around me. I saw a dirt path leading up a hill to what might be a road, so I trekked up it and started walking north. All I had with me was the raggedy excuse for clothing I woke up in and a walking stick I picked up off the ground. I walked for around an hour and a half when I came upon a small village.

I walked through the gate and saw a sign that identified the village as Riverwood. I walked through the middle of the road, searching for someone who could help me. I found a bar and inn and went inside. I walked past the long fireplace in the center of the room and sat down on a stool at the bar. I leaned forwards over the wooden bar and asked the woman who was serving drinks "Um, excuse me…"

She looked at me. "Delphine."

"What?" I asked.

"My name is Delphine. Now, what did you want again?"

I sighed. "Okay, first things first. Where am I?"

She looked at me funny. "Umm, Riverwood?"

"No, no, I know that, I mean… Where is Riverwood? Like… what…" I gave up, at a loss for words. "Never mind. Look, could you-"

"Do you really not know that you're in Whiterun?" She asked.

Now I was frustrated. "I. Don't. Know. What. That. Means." I said, gritting my teeth. "I woke up today, things exploded, people died, I escaped a dragon, my friend died, and now I'm here. That is literally _everything_ I know about this world, okay?"

Delphine's eyes widened. "You escaped a dragon? You were in Helgen?"

"Yeah. It sucked."

She put the small rag she was holding down on the bar. "Come with me."

I followed her outside and towards a horse tied to a box on the ground. When we reached the box, she pulled out a key, bent over, and unlocked it. Inside were some weapons, armor, and food. Delphine turned to me and said "Take these things and this horse. You need to go tell Jarl Balgruff what you just told me. The world needs everything you know to protect against dragons. Return the horse and supplies when you finish. I can always get more food, so don't worry about that. Now go. Follow the path to the north of here until you reach the gates of Whiterun. Go to Dragonsreach and report what you saw."

She was talking so fast that I didn't have a chance to interrupt before now, but when she stopped talking, I said "Why is it so important? Are dragons rare? What's going on?"

She turned back towards me. "Look, not many people are lucky enough to survive a dragon attack. We learn new things about defending against them every time someone does, so we need you to tell the Jarl everything you saw and heard, alright?"

I said, "Fine. But when I get back, I want some answers on where I am and who I- WHOAH!"

While I was talking she slapped the horse and it took off out of the town as the sun set on my first day alive. So far, my life was not turning out so great.

I arrived at a farm outside a walled city which I assumed was the Whiterun Delphine was talking about, when I saw a colossal man attacking some people outside the village. The man was 10 or 11 feet tall and had pale skin. I watched him swing a huge tree trunk and send a normal sized person flying over a fence. I immediately jumped off my horse and charged at it.

Delphine had given me some tough steel armor, a helmet with horns curving out of it, and a sharp looking ebony sword. I swiftly jumped over a small fence and into battle. I saw a woman in armor dive out of the way of the giant's massive foot and dove and the foot, slicing with my sword. The sword was even sharper than I expected, slicing right through the foot. "Whoah!" I said, looking up.

The giant roared in pain and lunged at my, but it stumbled with its nub for a foot and fell to the ground. I barely managed to dive out of the way before he crashed to the ground, smashing a bunch of plants sticking out of the ground. The woman I had seen stabbed her sword into the giant's neck, finishing it off. Blood poured out of the giant's stump for a leg as I approached her. She took off her helmet and… wow.

She was easily the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen (even though the only one I'd seen that wasn't being attacked by a dragon was Delphine, she was still stunning). She had long auburn hair and face paint running like diagonal scars across her face. She looked at me and said "You've got spirit. If you ever want to do some meaningful work, come to Jorrvasker in Whiterun. The Companions could use someone like you."

Before now, I wasn't sure, but now I am a pretty big fan of this Whiterun place.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 – Fire storm

I woke up in my bed just after dawn. I looked to the other side of the room and saw that Iveri was already up and gone. I closed my eyes for a few more seconds, trying to remember what I had been dreaming about… something with big ring of lava? Never mind.

I stood up and pulled on my clothes. I had some hand-me-down steel armor from my Dad's adventuring days and my trusty Orcish sword I had found in a cave that had saved my life against a Draugr Wight. I walked into the living room and saw some cheese and some bread laid out on the table next to an apple. Probably from my mom before she left for work in the morning.

I walked outside and started towards the gate to leave the city, walking past Olava the Feeble's house and past the forge, where I waved to my Dad as I left the city walls. I strolled down the winding path leading to the watchtower that had been destroyed years ago by dragons. It was my sister's favorite place to go when she wanted to be alone. I reached the entryway stairs and pushed open the door that, quite frankly, should really no longer be in existence, it's so torn up.

I walked up the two flights of stairs and opened the hatch up onto the roof to see Iveri sitting in between the turrets, her legs dangling over the edge of the tower, looking out over the wildlife in the morning sun. I plopped down next to her and looked at the city in the distance where our parents were. "Thinking about the birthday?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah," She sighed.

"Hey, don't worry about it- someone as useless as you? They'll probably just let you keep huntin- Hey!"

She swung her fire-red ponytail at me and hit me in the back of the head. "You're the useless one, Malachite." She said.

"Ooh!" I said sarcastically. "The comeback of the Era award goes to Miss Iveri Firestorm for calling somebody useless! Hard work from all 3 of her brain cells went into that one, folks-"

She pushed me back towards the center of the tower, smiling. "I'll wrestle you for the first rabbit we find." I said. Wrestling always cheers her up because she always wins.

"You're on!" She laughed.

We should really get hunting, but Iveri hunting in a bad mood is about as productive as an Argonian in swimming classes. She slowly moves towards me, ready to move at any time. I fake left and dive right, grabbing her hand and yanking her off balance. She kicks at me, but I duck underneath and pull her arm again, in the opposite direction, and she stumbles harder. She yanks her arm back, pulling me closer to her, and grabs my face with her other hand, pushing me down to the ground.

I let go of her arm as she drops down to pin me, but I back up with my hands. I stand up, right in front of the hatch back down to the stairs. "Do you want to just stop and-" I cut myself off by lunging at her to try and grab her arm again. She jerks it back and says "Wow, Malachite. Real mature. I'll show you how a real wrestler-"

She cut herself off by tackling me down through the hatch and onto the rocky stairs. "Well, that's hardly fair, Mrs. Mature" I said.

Then the dragon slammed through the wall.

Bricks and dust flew everywhere. The dragon's head poked through the hole in the wall it had created. As it opened, I dove further down the stairs to avoid the fire that blasted out of its mouth seconds later. The wall just above my head was now scorched black. I turned and looked at the dragon. It started worming its way into the tower, making the hole bigger and bigger until the whole thing was on the staircase climbing towards the roof.

I sprinted down the stairs and slammed the door out of my way as I charged out into the field, headed home for Whiterun, when I realized.

"Iveri!"

I looked up to the top of the tower and saw Iveri on the edge of the roof with her bow drawn, pointed at the dragon, which was out of sight. The clouds above us rumbled as rain broke loose and started pouring. I sprinted back into the tower when I saw pillars of flames shooting out of the top of the tower into the stormy air. I was three quarters of the way up the stairs when I heard Iveri scream.

I slammed the hatch open and saw Iveri on the ground next to the edge of the tower. "HEY!" I yelled at the dragon, trying to attract its attention.

I drew my sword and skewered it through the tip of its tail. It roared and swung its tail away. As it swung back towards me, I tried to grab the sword back from its tail, but I accidentally latched onto the fins on the end of the tail and was launched into the air outside the tower.

I flailed my arms and yelled, but then I saw a rope flying towards me. I gripped it with the edge of my fingertips, barely holding on in the pouring rain, and he swung downwards through the hole the dragon had crashed through the tower in. Once I reached the top of the tower again, thunder and lightning shook the Earth as a flood dropped from the sky and I locked eyes with Iveri from opposite sides of the dragon. "NO!" I screamed.

The dragon looked back at me and swiped me aside with a sweep of his tail, sending me flying into one of the stone turrets. My whole body ached, but I still looked up in time to see Iveri get raked with huge dragon claws that flung her body off the roof of the tower. I saw the blood fly into the air as my sister plunged out of sight.

Rage filled me up like lava as lightning struck and I charged the dragon.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Assignment

I waited a good while after Aela started walking towards Whiterun to follow her to the city to avoid looking like a creep, but eventually, when the night had completely overtaken the city, I approached the gates and asked the guard for entry. He said the doors were locked because of the dragons about, but I told him I came from Helgen (which is just something I threw out there because Delphine said it earlier), and he let me in easily. I saw a huge building on top of a hill above the rest of the city and thought _that's got to be it._ So I climbed to stairs up to the entrance and walked into Dragonsreach.

Inside there was a long, rectangular fire pit running longways in between me and the large throne at the end of the room. Walking alongside it, I approached the man sitting there, and said "Delphine of Riverwood sent me to talk to Jarl Balgruff about the dragon in Helgen. Is that you?"

The man looked at me from his seat, seemingly sizing me up. "You survived Helgen?" He asked dubiously.

"Yes. Barely, and not without help." The man's leg at the end of the river flashed into my mind and I shuddered.

Before the man on the throne could respond, the large doors I had walked in through just moments ago burst open and a guard came running in as fast as humanly possible. "Jarl Balgruff! There's a dragon attack in the western watchtower!"

The Jarl stood up. "Argonian, this will have to wait. What is your name again?"

My name? I thought back to when I just woke up and the man in front of the hotel had called for me. "My name is Prisoner." I said confidently.

The Jarl stared at me. "Um, alright then. Interesting. I know you are probably terrified, but will you help us fight this dragon? There have been 5 this week and more than half our guards are in the infirmary. The ones we have left are inexperienced, and we need people who know what they're doing. Will you help us?"

He looked at me expectantly. "Sure, I guess. But if I do, you need to help me reacquaint myself with the world. You see-"

"Yes, yes, I'll have someone help you. Now, come with me. We must go to battle!" The Jarl grabbed the guards by the door and charged out into the city, running for the watchtower that was under attack.

I ran after them, weaving through the pedestrians in the city street who had all probably been woken up by all the commotion about a dragon near Whiterun. We reached the city gates and they were quickly opened and the drawbridge lowered so we could run down the path towards the watchtower. Running in a pack with all these people felt… good. I felt as if I belonged with them, like I was part of a positive group accomplishing something. Well, I guess it didn't feel _like _that, it _was _that, but still. I liked being in the group.

All the good, positive energy I had from being with a mass of people completely drained out of me as I saw the dragon's fire lighting up the dark night sky all around the tower. I heard thunder and it started to rain. The dragon landed on the top of the watchtower and flung a body off the top of the tower. It flew, limp as a corpse, sailing through the air and landed on the ground with a disgusting _plop_ as our small army charged into battle.

Fire and water rained down as we ran at the stone building to fight the great beast. To my right, I saw a guard start to burn and fall down to the ground, all movement ceased. I held my breath and kept running. We reached the door and slammed my back against the wall, letting all the other guards run up the stairs before me. By the time they were all in the watchtower, some of them were already on the roof. The dragon roared in pain and tried to take from the tower, and I saw a massive gap in it's wing where it must have been cut by a guard's sword. The gap must have messed with its flight, because it unsteadily glided towards the ground and landed with a thundering crash, sending dirt flying and carving a big ditch in the ground. I ran at it, sword raised high.

It looked like it was about to attempt another take-off, so I jumped and slashed off the end of its tail. Blood squirted out all over me, and the dragon roared so loud I thought my eardrums would burst. I threw my sword at its undamaged wing that was right in front of me and it tore through the skin like fabric. The dragon roared and, turning around, spat fire at me. I rolled underneath its stomach and tried to crawl out the other side, but its massive claws grabbed me and flung me forwards so I tumbled along the ground and skidded to a halt just in front of its massive snout.

It leaned in swiftly to bite me, but I lashed out with my foot and knocked some of its razor-sharp fangs out onto the ground. It reared back, so I stumbled onto my feet, scooped up two of the fangs, and vigorously sank them into the reptilian monster's neck. It swung its head to the side, sending me flying into a pile of rocks, but  
I sat up and saw it shoot fire one last time before collapsing to the ground.

I heard a loud cheer arise from the guards still in the watchtower. Was killing a dragon really this easy? I thought I was still in trouble when the dragon's skin started to glow, so I raised my sword again, but instead it started to burn and the glowing skin dust turned a weird mixture of yellow and blue and flew right at me. I dove to the side, but it followed me and went _inside_ me. I didn't feel any different, but I saw a yellow-blue tint around me for a couple more seconds before it died away. "Is that… normal?" I asked.

I was met with dead silence from the 20 or so faces of guards in the night until one said in a voice barely louder than a whisper, "Dragonborn…"

That's when things _really_ started looking up for me.


End file.
